Detroit has had its own messy week. Dylan Larkin asked for a trade, lost the captaincy and went on non-roster injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Fans booed him during introductions at the home opener, and the Red Wings lost that one 2-0 to the Rangers. Coach Todd McLellan put it bluntly: "He's got to live with the ramifications of asking for a trade." At least 1 report had the team hoping Larkin could return for this game, the 3rd of the season. That is a hope, not a plan, and nobody knows how the building would greet him if he played.
The center problem goes further than Larkin. Marco Kasper picked up an upper-body injury in the opener, and McLellan said he would get a better read on him Tuesday. That puts his status for this game in the same day-of category. Against Winnipeg, the thin middle showed. The Jets scored 2 in the 1st and led 3-1 after 2. Detroit scored in the 2nd and the 3rd but never found the equalizer, and Stuart Skinner got his first win as a Jet.
Through 2 home games the Red Wings have 2 goals, and both came in a game they were already chasing. Ottawa has the opposite profile so far: a road win built on goals from different lines. The schedule gives this game its shape. Detroit gets the rested legs and the home ice. Ottawa gets the form and the travel. Who actually plays, Larkin and Kasper on one side and Sanderson on the other, will tell you more than either team's record does.
Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET. Before then, check Monday's result in Boston and the Tuesday morning updates on Larkin, Kasper and Sanderson. Those 4 things settle most of what's still open about this game.